The San Diego Padres claimed a 6-2 win against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2 and the Washington Nationals overcame the Atlanta Braves 10-5.

The Tampa Bay Rays had an 8-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox edged the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 after 12 innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Detroit Tigers 7-6.

The Miami Marlins were 8-1 victors against the Oakland Athletics, the Chicago White Sox got the better of the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 and the Texas Rangers claimed a 4-2 win over the Houston Astros.

The St Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers split their double-header, the former winning 6-0 before going down 8-5.

The San Francisco Giants were beaten 8-1 by the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels edged the New York Yankees 3-2 after 11 innings.

LESTER STARS

Cubs pitcher Lester became just the eighth active pitcher with 150 career victories as he struck out 10 Mets hitters over seven innings. Lester allowed just one run on five hits as he joined Jered Weaver, Felix Hernandez, Zack Greinke, Justin Verlander, Cubs team-mate John Lackey, CC Sabathia and Bartolo Colon as the only active pitchers with at least 150 victories. Lester is now 4-4 this season with a 3.89 ERA and is 150-88 for his career.

DAVIDSON GRAND SLAM

White Sox third baseman Matt Davidson led the way in a win over the Orioles with a grand slam in the sixth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field.

It was a short night for Mariners pitcher Christian Bergman, who was yanked after giving up nine earned runs on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings.

RANGERS AT ASTROS

The Astros (44-22) still have the best record in baseball, but it will be the Rangers (32-32) going for a three-game sweep on Wednesday. As the Astros pitching staff has been hit hard by injuries, they will send Francis Martes (0-0, 9.82 ERA) to the hill for his first MLB start and only second-ever appearance. The Rangers will counter the rookie with eight-year veteran Andrew Cashner (3-5, 3.17), who has already lost twice to the Astros this season.